Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 522,618 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,137 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.2% of Xponance Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $184,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of META. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $66,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,244,201 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $499,020,000 after purchasing an additional 249,926 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 284.0% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $813,000. Finally, Oxford Financial Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Oxford Financial Group Ltd. now owns 1,888 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $497.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $494.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $397.43. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $207.13 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.00 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $430.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $410.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.53.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,496.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.00, for a total value of $217,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,585,110. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,496.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,421,182 shares of company stock valued at $677,574,550 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.